As used herein, the term `barbecue` (also called a "brazier", "broiler", or "rotisserie") refers to a cooking appliance by which food is cooked by direct exposure to a source of radiant heat (typically `red` heat), as by being placed on a grated metal frame or grill or on a rotating spit disposed before a heat source.
Accordingly, so as to barbecue, grill, roast, toast or broil various kinds of foods, the consumer must purchase different cooking appliances each intended especially for cooking a desired kind of food, which is both inconvenient and costly.
In addition, in case of barbecueing a kind or cut of meat having a great thickness, the meat must typically be turned during the cooking so as to expose both sides of the meat to the single heating source employed to thereby evenly cook the meat. Furthermore, a rotating spit such as a rotisserie has long been known to be employed in barbecueing bulky pieces of meat, for turning the meat before the heating source so as to evenly cook the meat, but its use is limited and often inconvenient. More recently, a cooking system employing a turntable has been introduced, which is capable of evenly cooking a bulky piece of meat; however, in this case, the fat contained in the meat being cooked can not be effectively eliminated because the meat is placed on a tray supported by the turntable.
Still further, the known cooking devices are relatively heavy and bulky and therefore are not easily portable. Also, basting and saucing foods while cooking them is sometimes difficult. In addition, in the course of grilling a piece of meat, sizzling fat and grease from the meat being grilled may splash all over the insides of the cooking appliance, causing the insides thereof to become dirty and also smoke to be generated.